


Abraham and Isaac

by ilostmyshoe



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bible, Curiosity, Gen, Pre-Series, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Young Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-18
Updated: 2013-11-18
Packaged: 2018-01-01 22:18:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1049209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilostmyshoe/pseuds/ilostmyshoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Pastor Jim?”</p>
<p>Jim put down the book he had been reading and turned to look curiously at the boy standing before him. With his short stature, shaggy hair, and wide eyes, Sam Winchester looked even younger than his ten years, far too young to be reading the King James Bible that he clutched in his hands. But then, Sam had always been precocious, and the Winchesters had never let themselves be limited by society’s expectations.</p>
<p>“What is it, Sam?”</p>
<p> “If demons are real, does that mean that everything else in the Bible is true?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Abraham and Isaac

**Author's Note:**

> The lines in italics are from the King James Version of Genesis 22 lines 1-18: Abraham Commanded to Offer Isaac.

_And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am._

_And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Mori'ah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of._

_And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him._

–  –  –  –  –

“Pastor Jim?”

Jim put down the book he had been reading and turned to look curiously at the boy standing before him. With his short stature, shaggy hair, and wide eyes, Sam Winchester looked even younger than his ten years, far too young to be reading the King James Bible that he clutched in his hands. But then, Sam had always been precocious, and the Winchesters had never let themselves be limited by society’s expectations.

“What is it, Sam?”

 “If demons are real, does that mean that everything else in the Bible is true?”

–  –  –  –  –

_Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off._

_And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you._

_And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together._

–  –  –  –  –

Jim noticed that Sam’s finger was marking a particular page, and he tried to imagine what story might have piqued this line of inquiry. Hopefully not Sodom and Gomorrah. It was close to the beginning of the book, so it probably wasn’t the temptation of Christ or the Book of Revelations. Maybe it was the story of Job . . . He shook himself out of his internal procrastination and tried to answer as honestly as possible.

“Well, Sam, I believe that every part of the Bible exists to tell us important truths, but those truths are not always obvious or easy for us to understand.” He mentally braced himself. “Is there a particular passage that you were wondering about?”

“Yeah.” Sam suddenly looked embarrassed. “I mean, maybe it’s dumb, but I can’t get what happened with Abraham and Isaac out of my head.”

–  –  –  –  –

_And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?_

_And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together._

–  –  –  –  –

Pastor Jim nodded patiently. Given the volatile relationship between John and his youngest son and what little Jim knew about Sam’s discovery of the true nature of the family business, he found it all too easy to imagine why that particular passage might resonate. Hopefully he was overthinking things, and the problem would be something simpler. “What’s bothering you about the story, Sam?”

 “Well, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. Abraham lies to his companions, takes Isaac onto a mountain, ties him up, and gets ready to kill him, right? Then, at the last second, an angel shows up, says, ‘Never mind,’ and brings a ram for the sacrifice instead.

“And the whole time Abraham seems totally willing to go along with all of it. This is his miracle son, the son he prayed for even when he and his wife were too old to bear children. This is the son he supposedly loves with all of his heart, but he never stops to ask God for an explanation or an alternative. People in the Old Testament argued with God all of the time and got away with it. Why did Abraham stay silent and just follow orders? Was it fear? Obedience? Trust? Faith? Or did he just not really care about his son that much?”

–  –  –  –  –

_And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood._

_And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son._

_And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I._

 –  –  –  –  –

 “Whatever it is, he apparently did the right thing, because God rewards his actions by blessing him and his descendants. So, what truth are we supposed to learn from that story? Not to question authority? That you always need to put your trust in God’s plan? That you should be willing to sacrifice your family?”

Sam’s distress and volume had been increasing steadily, and when he stopped, the last question lingered in the air. It tore at Jim’s heart to see Sam’s face so confused and vulnerable. Jim pulled the boy down next to him and wrapped an arm around Sam’s shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay, Sam. It’s okay. I know it can be an upsetting story, and those are all good questions. Yes, the story is about obedience and following God’s will and how sometimes we are called upon to make difficult sacrifices. But it also gives us hope, because it reminds us that sometimes, even after we have resigned ourselves to making a painful sacrifice, the Lord will intervene and provide us with another way.”

Sam considered Jim’s words carefully. “I guess that makes sense . . . Do you think Abraham really would have done it, though? Would he have killed Isaac if God hadn’t stopped him and sent the ram instead?”

“I think he probably would have, but I don’t think he would have ever forgiven himself for it. There is no doubt in my mind that he loved his son very, very much. And I think it’s important, and reassuring, that in the end God decided not to put him through that.”

–  –  –  –  –

_And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me._

_And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son._

_And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah–ji'reh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen._

–  –  –  –  –

“I still can’t help feeling bad for Isaac,” said Sam. “I mean, he was just a kid; he must have been so scared. And then, afterwards, he had to grow up knowing that however much his dad said that he loved him he would be ready and willing to kill him in a minute if God commanded it. Can you imagine how awful that would feel?” Sam’s voice broke. “It’s not fair. Isaac should have had a big brother to take care of him. Then none of it would have ever happened.”

Jim tried to rub Sam’s shoulder in reassurance, but the boy shook his head and rose to his feet.

“Sam . . .”

“I’m sorry, I . . . thanks, Pastor Jim, for the talk and answering my questions and everything, but . . . I think I just wanna go out front to wait for Dad and Dean, okay? They said they were finished with the hunt and should be back soon, right?”

Jim nodded and forced a smile as the boy turned and walked away. He wondered if Sam knew that there had been an older half-brother, Ishmael, but that Isaac had never known him because Ishmael and his mother had been sent away from the tribe shortly after Isaac was born. Maybe knowing about the missing brother was why Sam felt the injustice of Isaac’s plight so strongly, but Jim couldn’t help thinking that reason was more personal.

Pastor Jim comforted himself with the knowledge that whatever concerns he might personally have about John and his priorities, whatever monumental difficulties Sam’s future might bring, at least he would always have his big brother by his side. After all, it was almost impossible to imagine one of the Winchester boys without the other. Surely they would never be apart for long, and Dean was fiercely protective. He would never let anything bad happen to his little brother.

–  –  –  –  –

_And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,_

_and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son,_

_that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;_

_and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice._


End file.
